Hey. Could we do that again? I know we haven't met, but I don't want to be an ant. You know?

Friday, 1 January 2016

My Top Films of 2015

For a number of reasons (but mainly the production of London Symphony), I didn't get to see a huge amount of films last year (a meagre 157, all in), but I do have the good fortune to be able to say that most of what I did watch was great. However, this might mean that 2015 was a good year for film for me, rather than a good year all round, given that over 100 of the films I saw were archive titles – my viewing preference, it would seem, remains slanted towards older films. Still, from what I saw, 2015 did offer plenty of good work, and I'm feeling much more enthused by my list of new films than I was last year. So much so, I've had to make it a 'Top 12' rather than a 'Top 10', and I suspect there are a handful of films here which will go on to become future favourites of mine.

I suppose it might be worth commenting in passing on some of the more obvious omissions from this list (e.g. Carol, Hard to be a God, A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night, Star Wars: The Force Awakens) – well, quite simply, I prefer the films listed below. Inside Out just missed out, and I've not yet seen Horse Money or Eden, which I suspect would have been strong contenders.

I've also not listed German Concentration Camps Factual Survey. This is partly because I wasn't sure which list to include it in (old or new), and also because it's in a league of its own. Perhaps the most vital and powerful film I saw all year, it somehow lies outside the boundaries of cinema itself. Maybe I'll write more on this another time.

Finally, I'd like to give a special mention to The Knick – also not cinema, but the best piece of television I've seen in quite some time.

Anyway, here are my lists: as always, directors' names will take you to their IMDb pages, and I've limited myself to one film per director in each list.

2 comments:

'Miss Julie' was magesterial, but I couldn't get excited about it. It felt like the work of a (very) skilled disciple, whereas 'Force Majeure' by Ruben Ostlund had a more distinctive voice. I find his discomfiting, sardonic gaze amusing and insightful in equal measure.